ASEAN | DD News

May 8, 2026 2:28 PM

Southeast Asian leaders seek strategy to ease impacts of Iran war

Southeast Asian leaders at a summit on Friday stressed an urgent need to coordinate their response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies. Meeting on the Philippine island of Cebu, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations called for a harmonised strategy to ensure energy and food security and head off future crises in a region particularly exposed to a nearly 70-day blockade of ...

May 8, 2026 10:25 AM

Southeast Asian leaders seek strategy to ease impacts of Iran war

Leaders of Southeast Asian countries holding a summit on Friday are expected to thrash out a coordinated response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies. Meeting on the Philippine island of Cebu, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to press for a harmonised strategy to ensure energy and food security in a region particularly exposed to a nearly 70-day blockade ...

May 7, 2026 4:30 PM

ASEAN summit kicks off with calls for joint response to energy crisis

The fallout of the Middle East crisis took centre stage at meetings of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN on Thursday, with renewed calls for a united front in the face of serious challenges for its fuel import-dependent economies. Concerns of energy and food supply security following a blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz weigh heavy on the bloc of 11 nations, home to nearly 700 million and one of the regions worst-hit after the Iran war choked off energy supplies. The Philippines, this year...

April 13, 2026 4:19 PM

ASEAN foreign ministers urge US and Iran to push for permanent resolution

ASEAN foreign ministers called on Monday for the United States and Iran to continue negotiating a permanent end to their conflict, and to implement the ceasefire fully and effectively. The ministers, who met virtually to discuss the war in the Middle East, also called for the restoration of safe, unimpeded and continuous passage of vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz. Beyond immediate security concerns, ASEAN highlighted the broader implications of the conflict on regional stability, ...

January 22, 2026 1:26 PM

ASEAN chair Philippines hosts Myanmar ‘stakeholder meeting’ to push stalled peace bid

The Philippines, the current chair of ASEAN, this week hosted a meeting of "important political groups" from army-ruled Myanmar, officials said on Thursday, in an effort to advance the regional bloc's long-stalled peace plan. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, who took over this year as ASEAN's special envoy to the crisis in Myanmar, said discussions at the "stakeholders' meeting" in Tagaytay included talk of de-escalation, facilitating aid delivery and fostering political...

January 20, 2026 10:18 AM

ASEAN will not certify Myanmar election or send observers, Malaysia says

The 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will not send observers to army-ruled Myanmar's ongoing three-stage election and will therefore not endorse the poll, Malaysia's foreign minister said on Tuesday. Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the military staged a coup against a civilian government in 2021. The election, which began in December last year, has been criticised by the United Nations, many Western countries and rights groups as a ploy to legitimise military rule th...

October 26, 2025 9:36 AM

East Timor, Asia’s youngest nation, becomes ASEAN’s 11th member

Asia's youngest nation East Timor on Sunday became the 11th member of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, fulfilling a vision set out by its current president nearly a half-century ago while under Portuguese rule. Also known as Timor-Leste, the country of 1.4 million people is among Asia's poorest and hopes to see gains from integrating its fledgling economy, which at about $2 billion represents only a tiny fraction of ASEAN's collective $3.8 trillion gross domestic product. East Timor's accession...

October 24, 2025 1:05 PM

ASEAN to host Trump at summit as US and China seek to avert trade war escalation

The bloc of Southeast Asian nations will host world leaders at a summit this weekend that will run alongside pivotal trade talks between the United States and China and serve as the first stop for U.S. President Donald Trump’s swing through Asia. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will press for trade multilateralism and deeper ties with new partners, while managing the fallout from Trump's global tariff offensive at its annual meeting in Malaysia's capital. Trump will be in Kuala Lu...

October 11, 2025 10:16 AM

ASEAN to discuss Myanmar election observers at October summit

Myanmar's junta has invited the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to send observers for planned year-end elections, and the bloc will discuss the request during a regional summit later this month, Malaysia's foreign ministry has said. The invitation to send election observers was extended to all ASEAN member states, the ministry said in a statement on Friday night. "The foreign minister noted the invitation extended to ASEAN member states to send election observers. For Malaysia, ...

March 19, 2025 10:18 AM

India and Malaysia hold bilateral meeting to strengthen trade and economic cooperation

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, held a bilateral meeting on Tuesday with Malaysian Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Liew Chin Tong, to explore ways to strengthen trade relations and review progress on the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA). Both leaders agreed to accelerate the review of AITIGA, aiming for a substantial conclusion by 2025, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Malaysia is one of the ...